In 1969, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were arguably the world's most famous married couple, and they became even more well known when Burton bought his wife a 69-carat diamond ring that cost over a million dollars. At a Hollywood party, their paths crossed with Lucille Ball and an unlikely idea emerged -- within weeks the Burtons were taping an episode of "Here's Lucy" as themselves, with the ring as a special guest star. This is the story of a very large diamond, two very popular movie stars and one of America's favorite comic actresses -- and how they all came together to make TV history.
Sources:
" 'All I Could See Was Elizabeth and That Rock': What Happened When Taylor and Burton Were Filmed for Next Week's Lucy Show," James Bacon, TV Guide, September 5, 1970
"The Taylor Burton Diamond," worthy.com
Loving Lucy: An Illustrated Tribute to Lucille Ball, by Bart Andrews
Elizabeth Taylor: A Private Life for Public Consumption, by Ellis Cashmore
The Richard Burton Diaries, edited by Chris Williams
So interesting! I have to see this episode now! Richard Burton was rather catty, wasn't he? Goodness.
ReplyDelete